Son: 'Flight 93' shows passengers as heroes
Longtime Manalapan resident was on board hijacked plane on 9/11
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

Two days before "United 93" was released to the general public on April 28, family members of United Airlines Flight 93 passengers were guests at a special premiere of the film at the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan.

"United 93" depicts what happened aboard one of the four planes that was hijacked by Al-Qaida terrorists on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

In attendance at that special screening of the film was Freehold Borough resident Patrick Driscoll whose father, Patrick "Joe" Driscoll, was one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.

Joe Driscoll and a friend, William Cashman, were heading to California for an annual hiking excursion.

Speaking about the impact the film had on him, Driscoll said, "As hard as it was to watch, it showed that they were heroes."

Government officials who investigated the events of Sept. 11 came to believe the terrorists who hijacked Flight 93 did so with the intention of crashing it into the White House or the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as part of the coordinated attack that saw one plane crash into each of the twin towers at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan and one plane crash into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C.

The investigators believe a passenger uprising on Flight 93 forced the hijackers who had taken control of the plane to crash it in Shanksville, Pa., short of its intended target in the nation's capital.

Flight 93 was en route from Newark to San Francisco at the time it was commandeered by the terrorists.

Driscoll particularly liked the way the movie depicted his father. He said Michael J. Reynolds, who was cast as Joe Driscoll, bears a remarkable resemblance to his dad. He said his father is identified in the movie through the use of a prop. In one scene, Reynolds, as Driscoll, is seen holding a magazine featuring Yosemite National Park and remarks on their destination to the actor portraying Cashman (Richard Bekins).

Patrick Driscoll attended the screening of "United 93" with his brother, Christopher, and sister, Pamela Gould. Another sibling, Steve, did not attend the premier, nor did Joe's wife, Maureen.

The Driscolls were longtime residents of Manalapan. Joe and Maureen had moved from the community just prior to Sept. 11.

Maureen Driscoll said she intends to see the movie, but will do so in the privacy of her own home when it becomes available on DVD, videotape or is shown on cable television. She said although she is not in denial of the events of that day, her Joe is, in many ways, still with her.

She said what they had was so special that she would not risk compromising the dignity of their relationship by publicly displaying the renewed grief and sorrow the film will likely generate for her. She said she is looking forward to seeing the movie because of what her children told her about it and she encouraged others to see the film as well.

Driscoll said she wants as many people to see "United 93" as possible because the director, Paul Greengrass, and his production assistants were solicitous and considerate of the family members and their recollections. She said they always indicated that they wanted to tell "the" story of Flight 93, not a Hollywood version of the events.

She said her family expected a film that would honor all those who died on Flight 93 at the hands of the terrorists and that is what they apparently have gotten.

Reviews of the film have praised its apparent authenticity and heartfelt emotion in the depiction of the events on board the doomed flight.

Noting she was proud and happy to have spent her life as a wife and mother to their four children, Driscoll said that when her husband was taken from her, "half my life went with him."

"It wasn't like we were joined at the hip, it wasn't like that at all, but he was my best friend," she said.

As the five-year anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, Driscoll said, "It doesn't get any better. I miss him more than anything."